Incredible Iceland

Putting VSO decisions aside for a while, I jetted off to to Iceland on Friday with one of my oldest friends, Margot. The entire experience was truly awesome! Iceland is a fascinating country, situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean where the North American and Eurasian plates join. It's weird and it's wonderful and it's got me totally hooked. If I left a wee bit of my heart in NZ last year, I think I may have a left another bit in Iceland this year.

Visually, many parts of the country we saw weren't exactly pretty. A lot of the architecture has a cold war feel about it (we later learnt that this is because the buildings have to be earthquake-proof). There's lots of concrete; lots of angular shapes in the landscape. And the natural environment can be pretty bleak too. There's vast flat plains, scattered with volcanic rock. There's vast amounts of cold, North Atlantic seascapes. There's pockets of steam and various sulfur-smelling hubbles and bubbles emerging from the geothermal goings on beneath the earth's surface. But it's incredible. I love it!

Of the total population of Iceland - some 320,000 people - two-thirds live in and around Reykjavik. That's staggering. This lack of people means that Reykjavik is probably the smallest and quietest capital city I've ever visited. It's really strange. You don't hear sirens, you don't see many people - even downtown, it's just quiet and peaceful and very chilled out. There's lovely little cafes serving great coffee. There's amazing restaurants dishing up the freshest, loveliest fish. There's tourist shops selling cuddly puffins and Icelandic jumpers. There's a rocket-shaped cathedral. And a great hot dog stand. And incredible views across the sea to the fjords opposite the city. But there's not a great deal else to Reykjavik. Maybe that's what makes it so lovely. It's a city break like no other. And it's only 2.5 hours from London. Even better.

On our first night we went to a restaurant called Tapas Barinn for dinner. We thought we might try the Icelandic tasting menu, which includes whale and puffin dishes, but we thought better of it once we read up about the legalities of whale eating. Instead we opted for a five-course fish menu - lobster tails, shrimps, bacon-wrapped scallops and dates, sea trout and monkfish in lobster sauce. It was delectable. We'd gone prepared for the worst pricewise so were pleasantly surprised that this set us back about £25 each. Seemed like great value for money and I didn't begrudge paying a penny of it.

Saturday was spent exploring Reykjavik. This comprised a visit to the rocket-shaped cathedral where we were lucky enough to hear the choir rehearsing Bach's St John Passion - an amazing sound in such a big space, an obligatory coffee-stop at a cute little boho cafe called Babalú, and a walk around the peninsular that was warm and sunny going one way and windswept and icy cold the other. We were more than ready for our lobster soup when we arrived back at the harbour in Reykjavik. There's a tiny little fisherman's shack that sells the most delicious lobster soup and fish kebabs. Unfortunately the owner, who didn't speak English, took advantage of my new 'live in the moment and try anything once' philosophy when he offered me some shark - hákarl. OMG. If only I knew then what I know now... This sums it up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl

Jesus! What was the man thinking?? I'm actually very very proud that I didn't gag. I really thought I was going to. I now know that would be the ammonia. It makes me feel sick just thinking about it. I really really don't recommend you try it. There's really no point. Not even to say you've had it. And especially not after that delicious lobster soup. Doesn't exactly leave a pleasant taste in your mouth.

On Saturday night we treated ourselves to a hot dog dinner at a little stand near the harbour called Bæjarins Beztu. Bill Clinton has dined there (although dined is maybe a little bit of an exaggeration. Eaten is maybe a better choice of word). And in 2006, The Guardian voted it best hot dog stand in Europe. As hot dogs go, they were pretty good. Cheap too. Then it was off to try and track down the Northern Lights. The weather hadn't been especially clear that day but we were told that the trip was definitely being operated that evening and pick up was at 10pm. We set off on our coach, heading north. Eventually we stopped and piled out into the freezing night. It really was cold. At first, all we could see of the Lights were bands in the sky that looked a bit like high cloud. Then they started glowing green. Not for long. Just every now and again. It was really and truly incredible and something I've wanted to experience for a long time. I'd love to see them again in their full glory but was more than happy with the display we got.

We didn't get to bed until about 2.30am and it was up again a few hours later for an 8.30am pick up for our Golden Circle trip. This took us to a national park, a spectacular waterfall called Gullfoss and the geothermal area where the geysers are. It was a really worthwhile trip and nice to see a bit more of Iceland. We went through the agricultural area, which is far less barren than the volanic scenery - there's even a few trees. When the settlers arrived in Iceland they chopped down all the trees, so it really is barren. We also went to a geothermal power plant but that didn't really float my boat.

Dinner that night was at Icelandic Fish & Chips; the healthy take on a fish supper. We had a choice of cod or haddock, both in a spelt and barley batter, with oven-cooked rosemary potato chips, a mango and coconut salad and a coriander and lime skyronnaise. (Skyr is actually a very soft cheese but is more like yogurt in taste and texture. It's delicious with blueberries for brekkie and we also had it in a banana smoothie.) It beat greasy, deep-fried fish and chips any day. In fact, I think there's a gap in the market for an Icelandic Fish & Chips equivalent here, certainly in the NE. We topped off our night watching Cool Runnings in a chilled out little bar called Prikið. Well, it was chilled out until the barman set his fleece on fire and threw himself to the ground to try and put the flames out. We didn't see the flames, so it just looked like he was having a fit. He got up very quickly when he realised he wasn't burning to death, looking very embarrassed and he apologised to us. How we laughed!

On Monday we had a well-deserved lie-in (and waffles for brek!) before heading for the Blue Lagoon. I can't begin to tell you just how nice it was to float around in the hot water, with mud packs on our faces, gazing up at the snow-covered mountains and blue blue sky. There was even a lagoon-side bar. It was bliss. We got back to Reykjavik in time for a final coffee at Babalú then headed back to the hotel to pack and try and polish off the litre bottle of gin we picked up at Heathrow on the assumption that everything would be ridiculously expensive in Iceland. (I was pleasantly surprised by the prices generally. OK, it wasn't the cheapest place I've ever visited, but it wasn't a patch on somewhere like Switzerland. A pint of beer at the lagoon-side bar was approximately £4.80 for example, and cheaper in town. Pretty comparable to London.).

We braved a serious white out to get to a veggie resto - Á Næstu Grösum - for dinner. The food was good but there was only Margot and I in there and no music, so it was pretty darn quiet. We got the giggles when Margot tipped them all of about 3p and then proceeded to try justifying it, saying she hadn't got to grips with the currency. To make giggling matters worse, she then proceeded to say that they could do with some mints. Oh shit, no, not 'mince', vegetarian waitress, 'mints', I meant 'mints'. I don't think the vegetarian waitress had even cottoned on, but that set me off and I had to leave. We had a couple of drinks in a gay bar that was playing great disco tunes before battling the wind and snow to get back to the hotel ready for our 05h10 alarm this morning.

I was surprised to learn that Iceland has a temperate climate because it's warmed by the Gulf Stream; it's milder than New York, despite being just outside the Arctic Circle. We had a mixed bag of weather when we were there. There was quite a lot of snow and sub-zero temperatures, but also some blue sky days and lovely warm sunshine. Apparently the amount of snow they've had isn't normal, but they seemed well equipped and dealt with it very well. We fully expected our flight to be cancelled or at least delayed this morning, but it left on time. Oh, and that's another thing - I think Icelanders are more punctual than even the Swiss. They run like absolute clockwork.

So, all in all, I had the most incredible trip. I laughed a great deal with my old mucker, I relaxed, I absorbed big skies and big landscapes, I ate delicious food, I developed an appetite for discovering more about a whole new country that I knew very little about before I went. In fact, I think that's partly why I compared my feelings about Iceland to my feelings about NZ; in both places I've been overwhelmed by nature and landscapes, they are both good for my soul. I also feel a strong pull to the land in both countries. That desire to see more, absorb more, appreciate more, discover more and experience more. I want to hire a camper van and explore Iceland in the summer, I want to go on a super jeep adventure (I've got a bit of an obsession with super jeeps now), I want to see what the rest of the country is like, I want to stay in a cosy cabin where I can see the Northern Lights play across the night sky, I want to ride an Icelandic horse. The possibilities are endless. And, thinking about it, I really believe that these are the two countries that T would have loved as much as me. I feel sad that he didn't get to visit these two special places. But given Margot and I saw the Northern Lights on the only clear night we had during our stay, I do wonder if T put in a special word for us. Stupid, I know, but kind of a nice thought and exactly something he'd do.

Tapas Barinn - http://tapas.is/
Babalú cafe - Skólavörðustígur 22A
Saegreifinn - http://www.saegreifinn.is/
Icelandic Fish & Chips - http://www.fishandchips.is/
Prikið - Bankastræti 12
Á Næstu Grösum - Laugavegur 20b
Fosshótel Baron - http://www.fosshotel.is/en/hotel/reykjavik_hotels.php